Attachment base for vertical shafts



April 16, 1935. P. D. MERRILL 1,997,370

ATTACHMENT BASE FOR VERTICAL SHAFTS Filed Nov. 20, 1955' Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFHQE I 1.997.870 V i p t ATTACHMENT BASE FOR VERTICAL SHAFTS Patterson D. Merrill, South BendjInd. I Application November 20, 1933, Serial No. 698,742

2 Claims. ',(01. 248-38) 7 These improvements trees, flag masts, etc.

relate to attachment de-; vices providing a base or support for such vertical shafts as the trunks, of small ornamental The present structure was 5 designed chiefly as a Christmas tree support.

The chief objects of the invention, are, first,

to provide a supporting attachment base according to which the vertical shaft may be of various diameters and of various cross-sectional shapes, including, irregular ones, and yet be accommodated and held peculiarly firmly by the device;

secondly, to provide a which the operation the shaft in the device is simple and easy, as is" construction according to f mounting and securing also the removal of the shaft therefrom; thirdly,

to provide a constructi on that may have the effective area of the base, large or small as may be desired, and especially providing such substan tially large areas as will afford a very unusual stability in such temporary attachment devices as are used for supporting Christmas trees, which variability in the base area is accomplished by tree.

Other objects attained by the construction shown are strength and rigidity, simplicity, low cost, convenience in use, and the occupation of but small space when in knock-down or disassembled condition.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device complete;

Fig. 2 is a top plan thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a medial vertical sectional view as on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The body H] of the holder is a casting in the form of a hollow annular shell which is open at the top and bottom and thus provides a hollow interior I the shape of which in top view is shown in Fig. 2 and which shape includes a constricted portion I la and an enlarged portion llb, these two portions merging into each other.

That shape is defined by flange-like upper extensions l2 and similar lower extensions M integral with the vertical and continuous side walls l5. These flanges are shown sectionally in Fig. 3

and by dotted lines in thus provided vertically through the body of the,

device an opening whi Figs. 1 and 2. There-is ch is elongated and substantially V-shaped at its one end portion, which opening is defined by upper and lower flangelike parts extending inward, and which flangelike parts contact the object to be held.

The vertical shaft-like object 56 may be considered the stem or trunk of a Christmas tree or the like, a flag staff, or any similar vertical rodlike or shaft-like object desired to be held firmly. It extends through the opening ii and is forced against the upper flanges 52 and the lower flanges i l defining the constricted part of the opening in top View. A threaded screwvshaft H is preferably employed for forcing the object l5 into such .associationwith the: body and for holding it in that position.

To this end a boss i8 is formed integrally with the body in and has a threaded opening therein for screw-shaft ll, which shaft is directed toward the apex of the substantially V-shaped opening I i, or towardthe narrow part l in. there.

of, as viewed in Fig. 2, and this boss l3 and screw shaft H are substantially midway between the top and bottom of the body iii as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. To facilitate the operation the screwshaft' l'i preferably terminates in a bell-crank handled lever I?! by which the desired pressure can be applied very rapidly, easily and satisfactorily.

Means for supporting the body ill include preferably three integral tubular extensions 2% provided with reinforcing integral vanes 2i between the side walls l5 and the extensions 29, the extensions being hollow and preferably slightly tapering as shown to accommodate the inner ends of the legs 22. These legs 22 are preferably of wooden dowel-pin material, which can readily be obtained in open market and at small cost. Such material having a diameter of from one inch to one and one-fourth inches will befound strong enough for household Christmas-tree purposes, although when the device is proportioned for larger and heavier trees the legs will be proportionately increased in strength, or may suitably be of iron pipe material. For ordinary Christmas-tree purposes the legs 22 are about the diameter of the ordinary household broom handle, which feature is of advantage since such handles are usually to be found around the house and the same can be cut to any appropriate length to supply a deficiency through loss or to provide a base area as large as, in any event, may be deemed desirable. This base area would be indicated by drawing lines between the free ends of the leg members 22 of Fig. 2, such lines defining a triangle on the floor.

Cir

into the projection recesses withsuiiicient tightness to avoid the necessity of special holding means for them. The weight of the tree tends to bind the legs and hold them securely,

A further advantage of this construction is that the body may be applied to the stem of the tree with the tree lying on its side, and, after the body has been clamped tightly in place, the

.legs may be inserted in their recesses, andthen the tree may. simply be erected vertically and thereby made to r st upon the support as a whole. Being'so raised is may be moved about and located in a very easy 'way by simply taking hold of the legs and swinging them'around,

One of the important advantages of this construction is that a device of ordinary size for household use will accommodate trees having stems or trunks of a considerable variety of diameters, for example from one inch in diameter or even less to say five inches in diameter. In this respect then the device automatically adjusts itself to such various sizes of stem through the converging top and bottom flanges defining the V-shaped portion of the stem opening.

Another peculiarity of the present construction is that it accommodates shafts or stems of practically any cross sectional shape, regular or irregular, which makes for further convenience in the avoidance of special shaping of the lower end of the tree.

According to all prior devices that I know of for holding Christmas trees, the operation of counting thetree has been attended by diiliculties of various kinds, and since the work of erecting such a tree in the home often falls upon the women of the family, or, ii upon the men, then under circumstances of inadequate tools and a general inaptitude and disinclination for such work, I have therefore sought to provide a device according to which anyone can easily mount and erect a tree on such a holder, and which tree when so erected is supported so rigidly and firmly as to avoid all danger of overturning, .while avoiding the usual tying of the tree from various directions with cords fastened to nails driven into window and door casings and walls.

It will be observed that the body I is substantially wide in vertical directions so that the up per and lower flanges l2 and M are substantially widely spaced apart. When the object i6 is normally held it is contacted at five places, namely at two upper opposed places, two lower opposed places, and at the end of the screw-shaft. Such clamping action taken with the strength and rigidity of the construction holds the object peculiarly firmly and satisfactorily in every way.

I contemplate as being included in these improvements all such variations, changes or departures from what is thus specifically illustrated and described as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. An attachment base of the character described comprising a hollow annular rigid body defining a vertical opening therethrough and which opening is elongated and substantially V- shaped at one end portion in top view and is adapted to accommodate a vertical shaft-like object to be held, with means for forcing such shaft-like object into tight association with the body at said V-shaped portion of said opening at least' the substantially ,V-shaped portion oi'said opening bei defined by upper and lower inwardly directed flanges, and supporting members extending downwardly from the body.

2. An attachment base of the character described comprising a hollow ring-like cast body having an annular continuous side wall and upper and lower integral flanges extending inwardly therefrom, said flanges being directed longitudinally to provide a pair of upper converging contact elements and a pair of lower converging contact elements, the upper and the lower contact elements being spaced vertically a substantial distance apart and being in substantially the same vertical planes and forming a constricted portion of the hollow interior of the body, said body having integral socket elements directed outwardly and downwardly and respectively adapted to receive supporting legs, and a screwshaft threaded substantially horizontally through the body wall and directed in general toward the constricted portion of said hollow interior.

' PATTERSON D. MERRILL. 

